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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · rule · bay · row · content · land · craft · stock

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. row — a line
  3. stock — goods
  4. fall — to drop
  5. stock — shares
  6. land — a country
  7. craft — a skill
  8. rule — a law
  9. craft — boats
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. content — happy
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. land — ground
  16. rule — government
  17. content — the amount
  18. fall — the season
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. land — to come down
  24. bay — to keep at bay

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com